


To the Waters and the Wild

by MadameFrenchFry



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Manipulation, Misunderstandings, Team as Family, Wild (Linked Universe)-centric, dumb big bro twilight, featuring demigod wild, smart big bro warriors, that doesn't mean he's not a good one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:28:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27663377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadameFrenchFry/pseuds/MadameFrenchFry
Summary: In which no one believes Wild isn't a child.[WILL BE REWRITTEN & UPDATED SOMETIME IN MARCH 2021]
Relationships: Flora & Wild (Linked Universe), Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Four & Twilight (Linked Universe), Link/Malon (Legend of Zelda), Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe), Time & Twilight (Linked Universe), Time & Wild (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 245





	1. Wildflower Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to To the Waters and the Wild :)
> 
> This fic, and any others that will be published, are primarily to improve writing. I appreciate healthy constructive criticism that offers legitimate tips, as well as any tidbits of information that would go well with the story (so long as they are communicated kindly). Let me know the vibe of the work, how you feel about the writing rhythm and style, and we can work from there.

> _I hope you are blessed with a heart like a wildflower._
> 
> _Strong enough to rise again after being trampled upon,_
> 
> _Tough enough to weather the worst of summer storms,_
> 
> _And able to grow and flourish even in the most broken places._
> 
> \- Nikita Gill

Link had been traveling all across the land since he defeated the Calamity. 

First, he kept to his home in Hateno, accompanying Zelda on her research explorations. Then, once the quiet lull of Hateno became too quiet for him to bear, he traveled to Lanayru, where he defeated five different Hinoxes and two Lynels; and though his arrival in Zora's domain had been spontaneous and nerve-inducing for his friend Prince Sidon (who fretted over the blood on Link until he discovered that it was not, in fact, Link's blood all over Link's clothing and face and limbs, but rather the blood of a few monsters), the Domain offered him enough adventure to keep him grounded to the area for a couple of weeks.

After that he was on his way to the Highlands, slipping into the secluded space of the Spring of Power in an effort to hide from a particularly territorial Lynel that he discovered he was too ill-prepared to fight mid-way into the battle. He stayed at the spring until the next day, basking in the cool relief of the water and ignoring the waves of coercion radiating off of the Goddess Statue, before he left to visit Robbie at the Tech Lab.

"Can... Can you undo... this?" Link asked him.

His voice was very weak and very raspy, coming out only in breathless puffs of air. The strain of speaking hurt his throat until it was so sore that massaging it did no good, and only then did Link stop talking.

"Undo what?"

Link gestured broadly at himself.

"Ah," said Robbie. "I'm afraid not. There's no way of knowing how - or why - you ended up the way you did. The Shrine of Resurrection is a very mysterious device. If anything, I'm certain Purah knows more about reversing the process than I."

Link sighed, but thanked Robbie for his help and began his trek to Rito Village anyway. Purah would be no help; she had been very excited to have found a new companion in Link's altered state.

Along the way, Link stopped only to gather flowers and herbs, taking delight in their subtle scents and healing effects. He frolicked in the tall grass with the foxes, basking in the delight he felt as he chased after birds and bugs. He chatted with other travelers, buying one or two of their wares and selling some of his own, and even managed to avoid all of the Yiga stationed throughout the land.

When he arrived at the village, tasked firstly by himself to buy all of the arrows in stock, Misa greeted him. "Did you know," she continued. "That a group of men have checked into the Inn? They look a lot like you. Distant family, perhaps?"

Link shook his head, making the ribbons braided into his hair flop about. "I don't know," he tried to say, but ended up coughing halfway into the sentence, and rubbed at his scarred throat in a futile attempt to lessen the pain. 

"Shush, shush, you needn't say anything," Misa fretted. "Poor boy, go make yourself some hot tea. Soothe that awful throat of yours."

Link obeyed.

The communal kitchen space was one of his most favorite places in all of Rito Village. It was warm and mostly unvisited, as the Rito preferred to spend their time doing other things; and though it was small and became easily cramped, Link found it cozy. The fire of the wok melted away the frigid redness clinging to his face, often lulling him into a semi-awake state of mind that Amali would take full advantage of in order to tell him all sorts of children's stories. Link was not a child by any means - and wasted no time telling her such - but didn't bother objecting to the stories. It was comforting, in a way. Her voice soothed him into more peaceful dreams than anyone else's ever had. 

The thought brightened Link's day. He was looking forward to seeing her again.

Unfortunately, his day did not brighten as he entered the communal kitchen, but rather did the opposite. Amali was nowhere to be found. Instead, a group of Hylians surrounded the wok, taking up whatever small space the area offered. The largest was an intimidating man shrouded in armor with only one eye, and the smallest was a boy with chin-length cropped hair and odd, color changing eyes.

Were these the young men that Misa had mentioned?

The area quieted considerably after Link stepped into it. Whatever rowdiness present in the group of young men had stilled upon making eye contact with Link. After a few moments of tense, awkward silence, the largest man cleared his throat. He tried to smile, but it faltered when he caught sight of Link's left ear.

"Hello," greeted the man. He gestured to himself, then at the boys around him. "My name is Time. These are my companions. Who might you be?"

Link did not answer. He stumbled back instead, tripping over his own feet, acutely aware of the harsh breaths entering and exiting his body. His lungs squeezed pathetically, forcing out every breath of air he took, and black dots crept into the edges of his vision.

Link blinked away the sting of panicked tears. He did not know these men.

He did not want to know these men!

He swayed on his feet... 

_"Oh my Hylia! Someone catch him!"_

... And fell into a pair of waiting arms. The hands holding him were dry and calloused and scratched against the material of Link's Snowquill Tunic. Link wiped at the tears dribbling down his cheeks and looked up, meeting the eyes of a brown-haired boy with a sharp-toothed smile.

Link froze as the boy drew him closer to his chest, laying Link's dizzy head against his chest with one arm and using the other to support his body. Link hoped he didn't notice the way Link's arms and legs spasmed on their own - perhaps from nerves, perhaps from exhaustion - and if he did notice, then Link hoped he wouldn't mention it.

"It's alright; you'll be alright," soothed the boy. He ran his hands through Link's hair like a comb, brushing gently. "What's your name, buddy?"

Link rubbed his face against the pelt of fur that brushed against his cheeks. He probably only managed to spread around his tears and snot, but the action felt cathartic. 

"Name's... Link."

Was it smart to give his name out to a group of strangers? Probably not. But Link had traveled everywhere in Hyrule and even explored the closest islands outside of it, so he figured there was nothing to worry about. He knew places these men could only dream of. He wrapped his arms around the boy's shoulders and pretended that he couldn't feel the way the boy's body stiffened at the sound of his name.

It was a small kindness he could afford to give.

(He didn't get to give them that often)

"My name is Twilight," the boy confided in him, whispering into Link's good ear as if he was telling Link a particularly exciting secret. "I'm nineteen years old. How old are you?"

"One hundred and seventeen," Link whispered back.

Twilight's eyebrows flew to his hairline. "Oh?" He chuckled. "That's pretty old. But you're not an old man, are you?"

One of the other boys spat out the cup of milk he had been sipping. Another boy shrieked and scrambled away. Time yelled at both of them.

Link raised his head and looked Twilight in the eye. "How old do you think I am?"

"Seven, at most."

Link glowered.

Twilight ignored it with years of practiced ease. "Hey, are you hungry?"

Link paused. His stomach felt suddenly empty, as if he hadn't eaten in days, but he could not find the strength within himself to even think of food. "No," he answered truthfully. He yawned and tucked his head underneath Twilight's chin again. "Just..."

"Tired?"

Link nodded. 

His eyes slipped shut as Twilight moved, shivering slightly as heat burst against his back, warming the icy area easily. He guessed they were near the wok. Twilight shifted to lay him on a cushioned surface, but Link wiggled and clung to the front of his shirt. “Don’t,” he pleaded.

Twilight sat him in his lap, letting Link squash his face into his lap. “Why not?”

“Please,” Link rasped. “... I… I don’t…” 

The words caught in his throat, balling together like a lump. He drew in a shaky breath. 

“You don’t trust them,” Twilight finished, searching Link’s face for certainty. Link wondered how he could have known what he was thinking. Was he a mind reader? Link didn’t care much; he had met stranger beings before. “Why do you trust me, then? You’ve only just met me.”

The question made Link pause and scratch his head. “I… think I know you,” he answered, uncertain. “Or maybe, maybe I knew you. Somewhere. Sometime ago.”

Exhaustion weighed heavy on his eyelids and limbs, dragging down the weight of his arms and legs. A hazy fog floated through his mind, in and out, and his awareness of his surroundings went with it. 

His eyes fluttered shut. 

Unknown to Link, who was steadily sinking deeper and deeper into the warm embrace of sleep, the group of boys waited for many moments, jumpy at the thought of waking the small child. When Link’s breathing evened out and the grip he had on Twilight’s shirt loosened slightly, the group let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. 

“Wow,” Wind gapped, shuffling closer to the younger child. He reached out a hand, bounced on his heels, seemed to think better of his actions, and lowered it. “He’s so tiny.”

Indeed, the hero of this Hyrule was tiny. His face still carried baby fat that wouldn’t disappear for many years, and his hands were chubby and soft. His hair was longer than he was tall, covering the sight of the thick, deep red scars from prying eyes. They spanned over the course of the left half of his body; over his knee and his thigh, across his torso, upwards of his throat, and only inches away from his eye.

“I’ll say,” Legend agreed. He wrinkled his nose. “He looks like a little monster.”

The tone of his voice betrayed his words; there was a softness there that was rarely present. He reached out and tugged a twig free from Link’s hair. The child murmured and shifted slightly, but stayed asleep. 

Warriors eyed the twig and then Link’s hair, as if he was imagining what else could be hidden in there. “He needs a good combing. A bath, too.”

Sky heaved a heavy sigh. He looked at the newest Link with sad eyes, tracing over every inch of scarred flesh as if it weighed heavy on his soul.

It probably did.

“We can do that tomorrow,” he mumbled. “We can figure everything out tomorrow. Right, Time?”

Time did not answer.

“He’s asleep,” Wind whispered helpfully.

Sky made a soft 'oh' at the realization. "We should go to sleep too," he suggested, though it sounded more like an order. His fingers twitched lightly against his palm as he tore his gaze away from the smallest hero. "It will do us good. Clear our heads and all that."

Wind pouted. "You always say that!"

Warriors snorted from his place in his bed roll, already weary from the day's events. He patted the empty bed roll beside him, and Wind reluctantly followed. "He's right, you know. I bet things will get a lot more interesting now."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've just got a feeling."

"Oh."

The night wore on, and as it did, the boys fell into sleep one-by-one. The soft hues of the sunset quickly faded, giving way to a sky full of twinkling lights among a dark vastness. The fire of the cooking wok slowly dwindled in time with the heroes as they nodded off until the embers glew orange but no longer burned.

Surrounded by the soft breathing of their companions, only two heroes remained awake. The first had never moved from his position before, careful to mind the smaller body in his arms. The second moved constantly, shifting this way and that, eyeing Twilight and the newest Link oddly.

Finally, through the darkness, a voice spoke. “Why didn’t you mention anything before?”

Twilight startled at the sound, his grip around Link momentarily tightening before loosening when he realized the origin of it. He looked to Four, who was only barely visible in the muted orange light of the fire. Four stared back with an intensity that Twilight had never before seen. Twilight shrugged, before realizing that the action likely couldn’t be seen. 

“Would you believe me if I said I didn’t know?”

Four's stare flickered back to Link. It stayed there for an uncomfortably long time. "Yeah," he said quietly, at last. "I just never imagined, really, that you'd father a parallel universe baby. I always thought that it'd be Time, since he's married, or Warriors, since he gets around so much."

Twilight barked out a laugh, then quickly covered it. "How do you know he's related to me? Maybe he just recognizes me somehow."

"Maybe..." Four mused. His eyes drifted to the pelt around Twilight's shoulder. "But how would he recognize you?"

“I don’t know,” Twilight murmured, a tad belatedly. “I don’t know.”

“Twilight….”

“I’m scared,” Twilight breathed. The two heroes lapsed into silence at the confession. “I don’t know what’s happening, or what will happen, or what this kid’s gone through.”

“I think we’re all scared.”

“You saw his scars, didn’t you? It’s hard to believe a child could survive whatever gave those to him. And his ear; it’s just dangling there, barely stitched back together. Why didn’t anyone help him?”

Four twisted his fingers into his blanket. “He’s got us now,” he reminded the other boy. “We wouldn’t let that happen again.”

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed. He brought his eyes down to look at the boy in his arms, and gently brushed a stray hair from his face. “You’re right.”

Four did not comment any further, however, choosing instead to tear his eyes away from the sweet gesture. It felt too private - too personal - to witness. Like a mother doting on her children, or a father’s silent love. 

_‘How sweet,’_ cooed Blue.

 _‘There’s no way he doesn’t know that kid,’_ Red argued. _‘We’ve never seen him like this before; he didn’t act even half this loving with his own family.’_

Four struggled to hush them. 

He turned away from the sight. 

Twilight, meanwhile, carefully shifted so that he could lay in his own bed roll. He rearranged Link to lay beside him, holding his breath when the boy’s brows furrowed. Thankfully, the child only made an unagreeable noise and snuggled into the side of Twilight’s chest, moving his head to comfortably lay on Twilight’s arm and bringing his legs up until his knees rested on Twilight’s side. 

The action brought a giddy smile to Twilight’s lips.

He had never communicated so clearly with a child before; he had never been as wanted as he was in this moment, had never formed such a strong bond in such a short amount of time, and had never fallen into the role of a protector so easily. The impulses he felt to coddle Collin and Madigan had been squashed down early with the struggles on Twilight’s part to form a stronger bond. 

Despite his love for Ordon Village, his loyalty to such a place that had taken him - an outsider, a child with no roots to this village - and loved him and shaped him into the young man he was today, the cold feeling of never truly belonging stabbed him in the heart. There was no amount of love or care that could melt that feeling away. 

Link would be a pain to deal with, he knew. The child had the look of a wanderer; in the short amount of time that Twilight had talked to him, he had proven himself to be frighteningly independent. And yet…. 

Link shifted in his sleep again, dragging an arm to rest on Twilight rather than where it was situated close to himself. 

… Twilight had never felt more ready to deal with it. 

This child would be the death of him, but Twilight wouldn’t want to go any other way.

He yawned as every blink became heavier and heavier, until he didn’t open them again for the rest of the night.

Cuddled close to Twilight’s chest, blue eyes still dragged down by sleep squinted open. Briefly, the thought of leaving entered his mind, but it exited just as quickly. Link did not do much else but sigh comfortably, the action making his chest rise and fall in one big sweep. He would succumb to slumber’s warm, sweetened embrace just for tonight. And by tomorrow morning, he’d be on his way to the Tabantha Tundra. 

There was no one to witness the way a sweet smile graced Link’s lips in the dark of the night while his face was tucked into Twilight’s elbow, and that was just the way he liked it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- In this AU, Wild didn't regress in age due to magic or runes, but rather because of some interesting side effects of the Shrine of Resurrection. This means that he woke up as a child after his 100 year sleep, and stayed that way after.
> 
> \- I headcanon that Uli and Rusl's unborn baby girl in Twilight Princess is named Madigan. In canon, she doesn't have a name.
> 
> \- I know characters are partially ooc at the moment, however, there are a few reasons for this: 1. I feel that the bonds between Wild and Wolfie (aka Twilight) would stick around even after the quest and even in a form the other might know. I personally headcanon that Twilight and Wild are platonic soulmates, and I absolutely feel that Twilight would be a wonderful big brother.  
> 2\. Wild has been not only physically regressed in age, but also mentally. And while this is a tad impacted/influenced by whatever he remembers of being an adult, he still has a shaky grasp on his emotions, reactions, and impulses (like a child) and will react to stressful situations in a way that a child most likely would.  
> 3\. I wanted lil baby vulnerable Wild sm. We don't see a lot of that in the LU fandom and I feel like we could do sm with it :'(
> 
> \- Four and Twilight would be great friends tbh. Their personalities just go well together.
> 
> \- And if you couldn't tell, I have a lot planned for this work. I'm planning character arcs, emotional problems, brotherly bonding, friendships, and more. I'm talking abt LOVE, abt GROWTH, abt RECOVERY. So sit back, buckle your seatbelts, and enjoy the ride cause we're going to get into a lot of fluff, angst, and pain :)


	2. Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, in the comments: hopefully I'll have it done next week :)  
> Y'all: so that was a f*cking lie
> 
> Chapter Warning: swearing

> _Your heart_
> 
> _And my heart_
> 
> _Are very, very_
> 
> _Old friends_

_“Link…”_

_Sealed away in the Shrine of Resurrection, a child’s body began to stir._

_“Link…”_

_Hair - matted and blond and smeared with blood and sweat and tears - flopped about. It was long, longer than the shrine itself, and shone dully in the artificial light._

_“Wake up…” a woman’s voice murmured into the child’s ear. A hand brushed through some of the worst knots, gently tugging them loose. “My dear son, Hyrule needs you.”_

_Link whined at the wake-up and moved stiffly, bringing himself into a sitting position. After one hundred years of healing, his joints were sore and unmoving. It pained his muscles to stretch them. Blearily, he looked around the small cave he had been sealed in, and seeing no one else around, he flopped back down into the blue waters of the shrine._

_“What? No!” The hand, previously entangled in his hair, flicked his forehead. “Get up! We’ve given you enough time to heal; we cannot afford to extend it anymore. It’s time to save Hyrule. It’s time to be the hero you were always meant to be.”_

Well _, Link thought._ That sounds awful.

_But he got up anyway._

_His hair dragged him down, unbalancing him further. He tripped over his own feet as he tried to walk on shaky legs, feeling incredibly clumsy. He stepped on a jagged rock on his way to the pedestal holding the Sheikah Slate, but barely felt it - it had embedded itself deeply into his left foot, where the scar tissue was thick and puffy and red._

_The light, previously perched at the head of the shrine, vanished._

_But not before Link saw the silhouette of a tall woman shrouded in green. Her dress was green as grass, her hair was green like moss, and her skin was colored a pale green that resembled the skin of a durian fruit. She wore golden beads on her wrists and ankles that gleamed even in the shadows, and odd golden triangles decorated her skin like tattoos. The largest was located in the middle of her sternum._

_Link’s breath caught._

_She was beautiful._

_He wished he could see her again._

* * *

Twilight woke up cold. 

It was barely morning; the sun was still low in the horizon. Pinks and blues painted the area where the mountains met the clouds, but the rest of the vast heavens remained untouched. 

Beside him, wrapped tightly in Twilight’s pelt - which had not been there the night before - Link slept on. Twilight watched with fuzzy eyes as the young boy’s chest rose and fell in a series of shallow movements. 

Relief stole his heart before annoyance got the chance to take it. Rito Village was awfully cold as it was, surrounded by blankets of snow and icy wind, and Twilight would rather he suffer through it than Link. 

He blinked, groaning softly at the headache developing at his temples, when his eyes landed on a small, green light. It fluttered nearby, circling around Link and Twilight in a fretful manner, and bopped up and down. When it caught Twilight’s stare, it bonked against his nose - though whether it was angry or happy, Twilight couldn’t tell - three times in a row. 

“... What?” Twilight whispered, mindful of the way Link curled further into his chest. “Are you a fairy?”

The green light let out a high-pitched, twinkling laugh. It should have sounded annoying, as Twilight had little patience for high-frequency sounds, but instead it warmed his heart. 

He felt as if he knew it, somehow. As if it had protected him once before, and was willing to do it a second time. 

“Was’it?” Link mumbled incoherently. His small hands gripped at Twilight’s tunic as he hauled himself upright. He yawned, throwing himself against Twilight as if he had suddenly lost all the bones in his body. The green light bonked against his forehead in a much gentler manner than it had for Twilight. Link squinted. “... Mommy?”

In a shower of gold, the green light exploded. 

The two of them lay together for several minutes, too stunned to move or to even look somewhere other than the spot where the light collapsed. 

“I killed it…” Link’s voice wobbled. “... I killed the fairy!”

“Shh,” Twilight hissed, pressing a finger against the younger one’s lips.

Vaguely, he wondered how Time would react. Then he remembered how intimidating the older man was even when he wasn’t doing anything, and hoped he would never see it.

“You didn’t kill it,” he said, even though he thought otherwise. 

… Was it even possible to kill a fairy by not doing anything? Or was Link just an exception? Did all fairies die from being called 'mommy' by a sleep-delusional seven year old?

“I killed it!” Link screeched. His voice cracked in the middle, but Twilight had no time to laugh or offer him water. “I KILLED IT!”

“Link, please, for the love of Hylia, shut up - ”

But Link only howled louder, wailing and screaming his sins to the world. 

“Erm, sorry,” said a sleepy voice. “What did you say you killed?”

The two boys froze and looked in the direction of the new voice, sheepish to have woken someone. Wind stood up, tripping over various blankets and weaponry with a few muttered cusses. 

He plopped down beside Link, putting all of his weight onto Twilight. Twilight suddenly had a series of flashbacks, including - but not limited to - a very unfortunate experience for Wolfie at the hands of the little demon that dared to call himself the Hero of the Winds. 

Link’s voice wavered. “ - A fairy,” he admitted, voice muffled by Twilight’s pelt, which he had wrapped tightly around himself upon Wind’s waking up. “I said… something… and it disappeared. Poof!” He used his hands as visual aids, rounding his hands into fists and then opening them as much as it was possible to. 

Wind stared. “Woah,” Twilight’s heart sank when he noticed the spark of light in Wind’s eyes despite the fire going out during the night. A second later, a mischievous smile spread across his face, puffing out his cheeks and making his dimples visible. “Wicked!”

Twilight snorted as Link burst into wails again, insisting that it was not ‘wicked’. “Why don’t you take Wind on a tour around the village,” he said to Link now that the sun was higher. It would do him some good to bond with the other heroes... and give Twilight a chance to sleep in. “Show him some cool things.”

Link considered it, eyeing Wind suspiciously (no doubt wondering about his own safety if he paired with a fourteen year old boy that thought killing fairies was cool) but eventually conceded to it. “What about you?”

“I’ll stay here,” Twilight offered. “I woke up too early today. I want to get a few more dreams in before we head out.”

“Fine.”

And so the two young boys set out, dressed in their pajamas and Twilight’s pelt, to explore the village. Their feet slapped softly against the wooden boards as they moved up and down the stairs, conscious of the quiet state of the village.

“Soooo,” Wind began when they came across a platform at the top of the village. The wind was colder here, as well as much more fierce, and for a second he panicked over Link’s safety as the younger one walked over to the edge and took a seat, letting his little legs dangle over it. “What do you do for fun ‘round here?”

Link shrugged. He wasn’t very talkative with Wind, but that was okay. They had a while to get to know each other. And besides, if Twilight trusted him, and Link trusted Twilight, surely Link would come to trust Wind as well? “Monster hunting,” he answered shortly.

The silence dragged between them. Link hesitated. “Or berry picking,” he mumbled.

“Cool,” Wind said awkwardly, sitting beside Link. Determinedly, he did not look down, even though he wanted badly to. “... Monster hunting and berry picking, huh? Are you sure you should be monster hunting?”

“Why not?”

Wind shifted uncomfortably. “Well…” he began. He raised a hand to scratch at his neck. “You’re pretty small. What happens when you get hurt?”

Link huffed. “I can take care of myself!”

Wind gave him an unconvinced look. 

“I can!” Link insisted, deepening his voice in an attempt to sound older - and therefore, more mature. From the unimpressed expression on Wind’s face, it did not work. “I’ll show you; I’ll leave right now and go all the way to the Tabantha Tundra and defeat all three of the White-Maned Lynels there. And then you’ll be sorry for ever doubting me!”

“Link,” Wind tried to console him. “There’s no need for anything like that. Really! I’m just worried that something bad could happen - ”

But Link did not let Wind finish his sentence. Instead, he scooted closer to the edge of the platform, grinning maniacally at Wind’s hysterical shouts, until he dropped over the edge.

Strong gusts of wind met his face with a fierceness that Link had not felt since he dueled against Windblight. He whooped and hollered at the feeling, enjoying the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he fell down the deep abyss surrounding Rito Village. Before he fell too deep, he pulled his paraglider out in a flash of blue, choking on a giggle when the contraption jerked violently. 

He took a deep breath - 

_“Revali’s Gale is now ready!”_

\- and soared.

His vision quickly shifted from encompassing black to the pale blues and whites of the sky. He squinted when a particularly stubborn ray of light refused to leave his eyes, but not before he managed to lock eyes with the stunned young boy on the flight platform. 

His grin stretched wider as he flashed the boy an certain finger that Zelda would have smacked him upside the head for. Then, just as Wind’s jaw dropped, he vanished, leaving only wisps of blue in his wake. 

Wind stood on the platform for a few moments more, staring at the spot where Link had just disappeared. Many things swirled in his stomach; anxiety, fear, embarrassment, vigilance… and nauseatingly enough, the contents of his dinner last night. 

Icy breezes flew by him in a series of oddly timed flurries, painting his cheeks and his nose bright red. 

Trying in vain to calm his rushing heart, Wind did not move. He did not move even as his legs trembled from the stress of a few minutes gone awry. He did not move even as each breath felt heavier and heavier and his head felt lighter and lighter. 

In a burst of movement, he bounded for the stairs. 

“TWILIGHT! YOU WON’T FUCKING BELIEVE THIS - ”

* * *

Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to fight three White-Maned Lynels in a row.

Sure, these types of Lynels were neither particularly weak nor incredibly powerful, but Link honestly had not anticipated feeling so exhausted after just one fight. Following his awakening from the shrine, he had been able to challenge monster after monster. From Chuchus to Moblins to Hinoxes to Guardians; there was nothing that Link couldn’t manage to throw himself at with the unyielding stamina of The Lord of the Mountains. 

Now… Now he just felt so tired.

He panted as he dodged a fireball, barely managing to get out of the way in time. It singed the fur of his snowquill tunic, leaving an ugly black mark. Link groaned when he saw it; Zelda was sure to lecture him over it! She seemed to be doing that an awful lot lately. 

He wheezed pathetically as he sunk into the snow. His hands had gone numb long ago; each finger was bright red and sure to be rubbed raw once he made his way to a stable. Varke was very insistent on the importances of maintaining body heat out in the Hebras. Link regretted trusting his snowquill boots to keep his feet safe and forgoing his pair of snow boots. Already, snow and ice were melting into and through the fabric, leaving Link soaked.

In the not-so-far distance, the Lynel roared. 

“C’mon, Link,” he whispered to himself, scrambling to his feet. Snow and mud slipped out underneath him, splattering his clothing, but he could not find it in himself to care. He whipped out his trusty Hylian Shield - which was not so trusty after several months of shield surfing in Necluda with Purah - and cowered behind it. “This is the last one. Just defeat it, and you’ll be able to prove to everyone that you’re not a child!”

The Lynel began to run. 

Link gulped.

_“HYUGH!”_

Link screamed as his body was thrown into the air, barely shielded by a red barrier. He fell fast, diving toward the ground and hitting it like a cheaply-made arrow. He bounced off of the ground a couple times, spinning in mid air before finally landing. Upon impact, the barrier, which had been gaining crack after crack with every fall, finally shattered into thousands of tiny crystals.

He made a pained sound, trying desperately to focus on the trees in his line of sight.

Why did they swirl like that?

Link patted himself down, checking for undetectable injuries. Amazingly, he had none.

“Oh,” he breathed. He stumbled to his feet. “Thank you, Daruk!”

The earth began to tremble. Link gasped, looking around for the source of the sudden earthquake. He found it miles away.

The Lynel was charging. 

Again. 

“C’mon,” Link pulled out his slate, relieved to find it unharmed, and began to wipe excess water off of the screen. “C’mon....”

He tapped on the Stasis Rune. It didn’t work.

Link’s heart skipped a beat. 

The Lynel neared. It was close enough now that each thump unsteadied him. 

“Oh no,” Link tapped on the rune repeatedly with a newfound sense of franticness. “Oh no,” he hoped Mipha’s Grace still worked. “Oh no, no, no, no, no.”

A beam of yellow shot out of the slate, enveloping everything in its grid. Link cheered and aimed it at the Lynel, relieved when all of its movements stopped. He took out the Master Sword with numbed, slippery hands, adjusting his grip on the hilt until it was easy to hold. Though it was as big as him, it was light to hold and easy to swing. It had never spoken to him, not like in the legends of the Heroes of Olde, but warmth always radiated from it whenever Link was near. 

It was completely devoted to him; and him to it. 

He darted forward, swinging the sword at the Lynel’s ankles. He could feel his heartbeat coursing through his veins and the chiming of the rune echoing through his ears. The sword made contact with the monster’s skin, slicing through it like a hot knife through goat butter, and shattered.

The confidence in Link faltered at once, unbelieving that the Master Sword would run out of energy at this precise moment. It felt fake. It felt like an ill-advised joke. 

Link’s throat burned. Why now?

The rune wore off in sparks of yellow, and suddenly the Lynel was moving again. It roared and aimed a series of fireballs at him, enraged at the cut its leg received. Link could only stand in place, unable to move as he attempted to process the day’s unfortunate events. 

Link screamed at the same moment the Lynel’s sword came into contact with his chest. But this scream was no scream of pain. Neither was it one of despair or pity. Instead, it was filled with an unholy rage - the same rage that could call upon Urbosa’s ferocious spirit. 

And call upon it he did. 

Lightning struck the surrounding landscape in a pattern of fleeting light. It struck the trees, wild animals, and ran through the wet snow until it reached the Lynel. It seemed as if it had taken hours to do so, but Link knew it had only been a second. 

The Lynel let out one last roar, but it was so weak and pained that Link marvelled at nature’s ability to turn the mighty into the weak and the weak into the mighty. And just like that, its body collapsed in a shower of maliced dust. In its wake were various types of gems, along with Lynel hooves and guts.

Link staggered toward the fallen goods. His chest heaved up and down in time with each raspy gulp of air he took, burning and aching. He reached for the Lynel guts. 

“LINK!” Screamed a voice in the distance. Link jumped, trembling, and spun around. There, across the field, stood the group of Hylian travelers, each wearing a disapproving face. “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK - ”

“ - LEGEND, NO!” Screamed another voice.

Link could only stand, frozen to the ground in ways both metaphorically and physically, as the group moved closer. The first to reach him was, unsurprisingly, Twilight, who snatched him up with such an emotionless face that you’d think he had to go around wangling missing children on a daily basis. 

The next was a young man only a couple of years older than Twilight with a blue scarf wrapped around his neck. He reached out and tugged the hood of Link’s tunic up and over his head, grimacing when his fingers came back stained with blood. The rest of the group came slowly after that, gradually closing in around Link until he could only see silhouettes. 

A boy with a streak of pink in his hair took a deep breath. He brought his hands up to his mouth as if he was praying, then tilted them forward. “For the love of Hylia,” he gasped. “You little shit. Why would you do something so stupid - ”

Link stuck his chin out stubbornly. “I am not a child,” he hissed in a fit of self righteous indignation. “I- I defeated three Lynels in a row! And Ganon! And- And I did it all on my own!”

Time pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’ll deal with this later,” he declared before anyone else could, “But for now we are all going to the nearest building, and _we_ \- ” he glanced at a boy with a sailcloth tied around his neck. “ - are going to explain everything. And then _someone_ \- ” He sent a sharp look toward Wind, who gulped and tried to hide behind the smallest member of the group. “ - is going to apologize, and a certain _child_ \- ” This time his gaze moved to Link, who looked away. “ - will be grounded. Does everyone understand?”

The group chorused a meek ‘yes’. 

* * *

Things did not get better at the stable. 

The walk there took approximately three hours. By the time they arrived, everyone was exhausted. Link received medical attention from Varke, who fretted over his injuries and told the travelers tales of Link’s embarrassing less-than-favorable-experiences in the past. 

Link was immediately pulled away from Twilight and sat down with Time and the boy with the sailcloth - who was named Sky, apparently - in a secluded section of the stable. 

“There’s something important you need to know,” Sky told him, taking a mug of hot chocolate from his hands and setting it down on a nearby table. At Link’s puzzled look, he explained that he wouldn’t want it to be spilled if Link had a bad reaction to the news. “We - ” he gestured to himself and Time, and then to the rest of the group. “ - are all the Heroes of Hyrule. You may know us as the Heroes of Old. We’ve been called onto an important quest by Hylia herself, and that’s how we ended up here.”

Link stared.

“That makes no sense,” he argued. “You can’t just have multiple heroes in one time. Not even Hyrule needs that many, no matter how many times it's overrun by Ganon or his stupid Yiga. How did you even get here, if you’re from some other universe?”

“A portal,” Time answered easily. “A portal always appears and takes us somewhere new, no matter how much we do or do not want to go. We go to whichever Hyrule needs us most.”

Link snorted. “Yeah, no,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere, and all of you can’t stop me.” He hopped off of the tall stool he had been seated on and made a beeline for the exit, slipping through the arms that swung down to grab him. 

His escape was all for not, however. Sky’s alarmed shouts alerted the rest of the group, and Link was scooped up before he even made it to the exit. 

“Restless little thing, aren’t you?” Mumbled Warriors. A sense of betrayal filled the young hero. Link had played a fun hand game with him earlier; he never would have expected this treachery from him! A nostalgic smile spread across the young man’s face, as if he was seeing someone else when he looked at Link. “I think I know just the thing to keep you from running off.”

“Hmph,” Link pouted. “Good luck with that,” he said sarcastically, even as he was laid on a small, square piece of cloth. It looked a lot like the sailcloth that Sky had worn earlier. “There is nothing that can keep me here -”

His proclamation was ending abruptly after he was rolled over multiple times, until the sailcloth was wrapped tightly around his body. His arms were trapped against his torso, and his legs were bound together in such a snug manner that he could barely wiggle his toes. 

Link flopped about, trying to escape his blanketed prison, when his vision was filled with Sky’s face instead. The older boy merely smiled at him, as if he hadn’t just participated in a horrible scheme to incapacitate him. 

“You didn’t stick around long enough for us to find out your name,” said Sky, moments after Link gave up trying to move. “It would have confirmed everything we said.”

Link gave him an unimpressed look. 

“It’s true!” Sky squawked. His cheeks turned blotchy and red as the rest of the group laughed loudly. “Look!”

He held something up. It glowed blue, but Link could not see what it was. This was primarily because he could only stare at the ceiling. 

Sky seemed to notice his predicament, and shifted so that the blue object was in his line of sight. Link’s jaw dropped.

That was - 

“The Master Sword,” he breathed. “But… how?”

“We told you,” Sky repeated. “We’re all heroes from different Hyrules, brought together to fight a great evil. We all have nicknames, though, so it doesn’t get confusing.”

Link’s bottom lip wobbled. 

If what these men said was true - that they were really heroes of the past, brought to Link’s own Hyrule in order to fight something more evil than Ganon - then what would they think when they found out the truth?

One hundred years ago, Link had failed. He had died, because he was too weak to survive a few Guardians’ blasts. Even now, so long after his death, Link shuddered at the thought of them. 

If there was one thing Link remembered about his childhood before the Calamity, it was the Legends of Olde. They were well-loved stories in his household, spoken of with the highest degrees of admiration. Link had even been named after them. His father hoped for the same courageous deeds from Link, piling on expectation after expectation since his birth. He often forgot his son was just a child. 

A child that had doomed them all. 

“Here,” Sky chirped, holding out the Master Sword. “Take it. She’ll tell you your hero name.”

There was a moment of silence. 

Warriors shuffled closer, sliding his arm around Sky’s shoulder, and leaning in close. They exchanged whispers for a couple of seconds, before red bloomed across his face. “Oh! Uhm…” He gasped, shifting this way and that while he attempted to find a solution. Without warning, the flat side of the sword’s blade touched Link’s unscarred cheek, cooling the warmed flesh immediately. 

“So we’re just going to let Sky put a whole ass sword on a kid’s face?”

“Shush, Legend!”

But Link was not focused on the beginnings of an argument happening around him. Instead, his attention had been diverted to the sword. It felt warm suddenly, as if it was an old friend rather than a sculpted piece of metal, and buzzed sleepily. 

_“My dear master…”_ spoke a soft, robotic voice. Link jolted, surprised. _“One of my last… I promised I would protect you until my dying days…”_

 _“She said you were not ready,”_ said the sword. It sounded tired, weary of life and ready for rest. _“She said you had not earned me, before or after… but I disagree. You have been through horrible things, master, that no child should have witnessed, let alone participate in. Tell me, are you ready for me to bestow your title upon you?”_

“Yes…” Link mumbled aloud. “I think.”

The sword hummed. _“Very well, Hero of the Wilds. May I protect you until you need protection no more.”_

Sky removed the sword, smiling sadly. Link blinked, dazed from the conversation he had. 

“Wild, huh?” Sky chuckled, but it wasn’t a light sound. It sounded heavier, weighed down by bitterness and regret. “It suits you, doesn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- and that's how Wild gets his name! Kinda crazy how they expected him to just a deal with all that after almost being killed by a Lynel, but I'm not really one to judge  
> \- lmao Sky really put a sword on a child's face and didn't think anything of it  
> \- wasn't Warriors showing such good big bro material in this :') he swaddled a troublesome child like it was nothing  
> \- soo, a few mentions of Zelda in this, and they're not exactly showing her in the best light. I'm a total sucker for Link and Zelda having the whole bros before hoes thing going on, but considering their relationship before the Calamity and everything I'm including in my story, it's going to take a lot of work on both ends before they're able to form a bond. It's always been stuck on my heart that Link and Zelda were the same age, give or take a few months, in canon, and Zelda took out her emotional distress on a boy who had had the world on his shoulders since he was a child (like her!). Link was a knight, he was just trying to do his job and got crap by a lot of people for it, had little to no support system, and yet in so many fics I see people exploring Zelda's character arc and their relationship somehow getting better with absolutely no (inner or outer) emotional conflict on Link's end (let's face it, he was verbally abused by her), so i want to take the chance to explore it here  
> \- I had the fight scene with the Lynel planned for a while. I was going to jump right into it, but there were some complications with the scenes following it when I did that, so I scrapped the intro and made a whole new one. I think it turned out pretty well  
> \- also that green lady? guess who she is. We don't have demigod!wild in the tags for nothing  
> \- Legend is such a little shit lol, I love him. He's totally the type of person to swear at little kids so casually, and then get scolded (probably by Hyrule and Sky) for it  
> \- I actually have a pretty fun Legend + Wild bonding scene next chapter planned! I was going to drop some hints, but then I thought maybe I shouldn't in case I decide to change things up again lol


End file.
